college13ound

I'm trying to decide between Colgate and Bucknell right now and I'm really freaking out because that May 1 deadline just keeps getting closer and closer. I had an amazing time at both schools during their April Visit Days and I am having a very difficult time distinguishing between the two. I feel like I may fit in better at Bucknell, but Colgate is definitely more prestigious.

If anyone could provide me with any advice on the differences between the two, it would be greatly appreciated.

gellino

I think Colgate is a notch ahead in terms of academic reputation. Colgate does a fair bit better in grad school and job recruitment placements from what I have seen through my experience. They both have a similar environment and are possibly the largest two LACs. I would go with fit to a certain degree, but unless you were much more comfortable with Bucknell, would think that Colgate would keep more doors open to you a little more easily than Bucknell.

rhf

I agree- unless there was a significant contrast between the atmospheres of the two schools and your level of ease during your visits I'd choose Colgate, you won't regret it when it comes time for grad school or job applications.

college13ound

I know that Colgate is ranked about 10 places higher on the US News LAC rankings, but do you really think that it makes a significant difference?

On the Bucknell board, I was told that the prestige means less, what matters is what you make of the experience in terms of getting involved and such.

Now, I understand that it was the Bucknell board-writers that told me that, so of course, they are going to support their school, but I am really having a difficult time differentiating between the two other than the fact that Colgate is a few places higher.

I am interested in majoring in English and I know that English is very strong at Colgate. I've heard that Bucknell is synonymous with Engineering and the Sciences--is this true? And if it is, is their English department then overshadowed?

thetruth

go wherever you feel most comfortable. the statistical differences are minimal.

collegeparent

To quote College13ound: "I am interested in majoring in English and I know that English is very strong at Colgate. I've heard that Bucknell is synonymous with Engineering and the Sciences--is this true? And if it is, is their English department then overshadowed?" The answer to both your questions is Yes. Also Gellino's comment above is pretty accurate. Please let us know what you decide.

gellino

I wouldn't necessarily say that Bucknell is "synonymous with Engineering and the Sciences" or that to the extent that this is true it is going to 'overshadow' their English Dept. I think Colgate would be more well known in sciences and historically has sent more people to get PhDs in them despite having a somewhat smaller class size. Bucknell is unique in that it is a LAC with engineering, which is rare I only know Lafayette & Union to also be like this. The stats for Colgate certainly are somewhat better than Bucknell (but you can debate all day long about how important or meaningful having an avg SAT of 1347 vs 1310 or an admit rate of 27% vs 34% is). The only important tangible translation I can see from this is maybe a somewhat more accomplished student body and how it affects job & grad school placement. I get the sense that Colgate has a lot more recruiting opps than Bucknell. For example, if you want to work at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley out of college, from what I've seen you have no chance from Bucknell, while you have a shot at Colgate. For consulting jobs, I would say this is similar, but less pronouned, as I would say both schools are on the ouitside looking in for many of the top consultant jobs. If you want to get a PhD in English, I would say both schools are pretty close to equal.

college13ound

Thank you so much for your responses. The good points everyone makes is making it more and more difficult for me though!

I've been hearing two things though that really have me confused about college. People have been saying, "College is what you make of it and you'll become more involved and do much better where you feel most comfortable." The answer to that statement would be Bucknell; however, I do not feel uncomfortable at Colgate, just slightly less comfortable than I do at Bucknell. When people hear that, they say, "Well, if both schools are pretty similar, you should obviously choose the school with the stronger academic reputation."

This little conflict makes me wonder though, about this whole debacle. Is it true that students become most involved where they feel comfortable? And when academics are slightly stronger at one school does that balance out with the fact that the student may be slightly less involved?

I'm sorry for my incessant postings. I'm clearly a little insane right now with cramming for 3 AP tests and make pages and pages of pros and cons lists, all while operating on 3 hours of sleep.

I'm thinking of flipping a coin.

gellino

What do you like better about Bucknell? I've never been to Bucknell, but have gotten the impression that the general atmosphere there is similar. Bucknell was founded by a former Colgate president and they were both voted top 10 campuses by a guy who has seen 324 of them.

http://www.colgate.edu/DesktopDefaul...6013&nwID=4077

chexpartymix

Don't second-guess yourself. Go to Bucknell if that's where you feel more comfortable...even if they don't have ice hockey :-) The two schools mimic each other in so many ways that they're practically incestuous. They both have excellent reputations but I will keep my personal (and biased) opinion to myself!

gellino

I don't know about incestuous as I actually didn't know too many people there who had applied to Bucknell. From my experience, Colgate's biggest overlaps were Dartmouth (0% accepted), Cornell (30% accepted), Middlebury (90% accepted, although Midd's selectivity seems to have gone up a lot since), Tufts (80% accepted) and Williams (0% accepted). However, besides Colgate, these are probably the same top five overlap schools for Bucknell too (except that Lehigh & Lafayette are probably also in their mix), so the two will still have a slightly different feel.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'getting involved'. I would almost feel that students that are not as comfortable would be more likely to get involved because the others are satisfied with how the status quo is going for them. I would say try to drill down on what made you feel more comfortable with Bucknell would be important to see if it was a real or imagined difference.

college13ound

I'm going to Colgate. I think that my notions about social life at Bucknell were slightly exaggerated, especially because I know that Colgate does it's fair share of partying. Colgate is definitely a better academic fit for me, so I've made my decision. Yay! Thanks for your help everyone.

jrpar

Congrats on making your decision!

collegeparent

All in all, for you, a very wise choice. Congratulations -- you'll have the best four years of your life!

thetruth

>>>>I know that Colgate does it's fair share of partying.

it's share, and some of hamilton's share too.

welcome to the colgate family. you won't regret it.